What Is Navigation Design and Why Is It Important
Building a custom website design requires due diligence considering the number of elements you need to work with during the process. Aside from company branding and website design, you also need to assess features, search engine optimisation, and website navigation design.
Now, you have likely heard of various website features and search engine optimisation while having no idea what website navigation design entails. Understandable, given that it is an element often neglected.
What Is Navigation Design?
Website navigation design is a process that makes your website user friendly. It involves the development of a website navigation system as a series of linked pages and directories that help site visitors find their way around a website. The navigation system consists of a page or menu link that connects the visitor to a website page or site.
It’s worth noting that an excellent navigation system is one that is intuitive and easy to use.
What Makes a Good Navigation Design?
Navigation design relies on key principles, much like website design. These principles are visibility, unity, and breadcrumbs.
To better understand these principles, you may refer to the guide below.
1. Visibility
Visibility refers to how well a navigation system is integrated into the overall website design. Too often, website navigation is relegated to a sub-navigation menu. This can make navigation design difficult.
Good navigation design promotes the visibility of the navigation system as a whole. It should be obvious that it exists as a cohesive unit without intruding on the rest of the site.
2. Unity
Unity refers to the navigation system working well both independently and as part of the entire website.
It’s a principle that involves the navigation system meshing well with the website. It should be evident from the navigation system that it is part of the site, not something tacked on.
3. Breadcrumbs
Breadcrumbs are a series of minor marks that help visitors manage their current location within a website. It works by connecting each link to its parent page.
Breadcrumbs help visitors stay on track with the pages they’ve been browsing on your site. It allows them to navigate back to a page easily they were previously at.
Why Do Websites Need Good Navigation Design?
Website designs require good navigation structure, or else they fail. After all, a website that is pretty to look at is useless if visitors have a difficult time browsing it. Creating a simple, visible, and intuitive navigation design that is user friendly goes a long way in improving the user experience of a website.
The navigation design also plays a crucial part in improving search engine optimisation. A good navigation structure allows ease of website content discovery, which is vital to search engine optimisation. You should also remember that a website with a good navigation design helps you retain customers and attract new ones.
Final Thoughts
To recap, good navigation design is vital to the success of a website. It entails creating a simple, visible, and intuitive navigation system that is user friendly.
Now that you know what navigation design is and why it’s important, you’re ready to begin planning and designing your website. Happy building!
If you require the assistance of web developers in Brisbane, you need not look further than Apex Designs. We are one of Australia’s top web developers, eager to help clients build websites that further their goals. Book a consultation with us today to get started.